ALBANY—New York Power Authority (NYPA) Trustees Tuesday
approved contract extensions for low-cost hydropower to help solidify the
future of two major Western New York employers, Norampac Industries in
Niagara Falls and Motorola Inc. in Elma.

“The continued allocations of low-cost power to Norampac
and Motorola from our Niagara Power Project signal New York State’s
determination under Governor George E. Pataki to work closely with Western
New York businesses to help lower their costs and improve their
competitiveness,” said Louis P. Ciminelli, NYPA chairman. “This is an effort
the Power Authority makes significant contributions toward every day, with
more than 43,000 jobs in the region linked to our hydropower allocations,
and another 17,000 jobs from other sources of economical electricity.”

The allocations for Norampac and Motorola are drawn from
a block of 250,000 kilowatts (kw) of Niagara electricity known as expansion
power, reserved for businesses within 30 miles of the Niagara project
switchyard. (Western New York businesses also benefit from a second block of
Niagara power called replacement power, amounting to 445,000 kw.)

The expansion power contract extensions acted on Tuesday
assure Norampac 1,600 (kw) and Motorola 3,600 kw through August 2009. The
allocations for the full term of the contracts will depend on federal
relicensing of the Niagara Project beyond August 2007, when the current
operating license expires.

Norampac, which also operates a manufacturing facility
in Buffalo, in addition to the one in Niagara Falls, recycles corrugated
materials for packaging boxes for consumer products industries. The company,
which is headquartered in Montreal, has been in Western New York for more
than 16 years.

Motorola’s Elma facility, in Erie County, manufactures
sophisticated automotive sensors and electronic controls that help make
vehicles smarter, safer, and more efficient. The plant ranks among the “Best
in Class” not only across Motorola, but the entire automotive electronics
industry. Next year, the company will celebrate its 50th anniversary in
Western New York.

The 2,400,000-kw Niagara Project, in Lewiston, is the
single largest source of electricity in New York State. It provides some of
the lowest-cost electricity, along with a second large hydroelectric project
operated by NYPA, the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Project in Massena